Trapped
by Ken no Kakera
Summary: Sango is a patient at an insane asylum. Miroku is her new young doctor. Can he help Sango get over her tragic past?
1. Silence

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Trapped

Disclaimer: Sango, Miroku and most of the characters in this story do not belong to me. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The only character that belongs to me is Dr. Ajikenai, but who wants to take credit for inventing a balding, middle aged man, anyway? Oh, and I made up the name for the asylum, too. ^_^

A/N: ~~~ ** means a change in scene or point of view. 

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Chapter 1: Silence

A nurse in her mid-thirties, wearing flower print scrubs, walked through the halls of The Asylum for Particularly Psycho People. She held a file in her hand, and a depressed look on her face.

Finally, she stopped at a door, and opened it. 

"Dr, there has been no change for patient X4338," the nurse said, speaking to a man in a white lab coat.

"Ah, yes. It goes as I expected," replied Dr. Ajikenai, the balding, middle-aged man looked up from his paperwork.

"I feel so sorry for her," the nurse sighed, as she gave the file to the doctor.

"Yes, she has been through a lot," the doctor agreed, taking a look at the file.

"Do you think the new doctor will have any effect on her?" the nurse asked hopefully.

"_I_ don't think so. She has seen the best of every kind of doctor there is. What is some kid straight out of Med. School going to change?" Dr. Ajikenai said spitefully. It seemed that he didn't think highly of new doctors. 

"Yes, Dr," she said, as she walked out the door. She knew better than to say otherwise. Ajikenai seemed to have a grudge against any doctor that was younger than him (which was quite a few, it seemed).

"Oh, I do hope she will get better," sighed the nurse, as she walked to the Nurse's Locker room. "Gods know she's been through too much for an 18 year old."

~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~

The next day:

"So, Dr. Ajikenai, what is wrong with the next patient?" asked a tall, dark-haired young man in a white lab coat.

"No stupid questions!" snapped Dr. Ajikenai, irritably. "You'll find out soon enough."

"Hmm…patient X4338..." Miroku read the file under his breath, as he followed Ajikenai up a set of stairs.

"Katsuragi! Get the hell over here! Do you want to keep your _patient _waiting?" Ajikenai asked sarcastically.

Miroku looked up to find that he kept walking down the hall while Ajikenai had stopped at a door. 

"Sorry sir," Miroku mumbled, as he walked back to the Dr.

The older doctor walked into the room first.

"Hello, Sango," he said in a friendly, yet gentle voice. "We've just come to check up on you."

Miroku looked around the room. There were four regular white walls (not padded, as those rooms were for violent patients), with a cheap looking cot in one corner, and a table with three chairs in the middle of the room. "Sango," as Ajikenai called her, was already sitting in one of the chairs, and Ajikenai was walking towards the one across from it. It was like all of the other rooms he had visited, so Miroku supposed that this patient was probably like all the other ones; acting like killer-chickens, or something. 

But when Miroku took a look at the thin girl who lived in the room, he gasped.

__

Her face was extremely pale, except for the place right under her eyes, which was a sickly shade of purple, probably caused by lack of sleep. She wore a white nightgown that reached down to her mid-calf, and the dress accentuated her paleness and anorexia.

Dr. Ajikenai, noticing Miroku's astonished face, gave him a sour look and said "Don't worry, we feed her every day, and she _does_ eat a little."

"Sir, what happened to her?" asked Miroku, still amazed at her condition.

"I am not here to answer questions, _Dr. _Katsuragi. Look at her file!" snapped Ajikenai, rolling his eyes.

Miroku read her file:

_Patient name: Matsushita, Sango_

Age: 17

_Date checked in: July 11, 2002_

Checked in by: Carol Malloy, social worker

Reason for admission: Shortly after being seriously wounded (stabbed with a butcher's knife in the mid-back, lower back) by her brother, Kohaku Matsushita, and witnessing said brother kill their father, and then himself, patient refuses to do anything for days at a time. Does not eat, drink, or talk, during this period, and sleeps for only two hours every night. 

"Wow," Miroku stopped reading and tried to imagine what the poor girl must have gone through. 

__

~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~

~~~**Sango's Flashback**~~~ 

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She's dusting off the TV, while her father is taking a nap.

__

Poor dad. Least I can do is let him sleep after working the graveyard shift she thought.

Suddenly, she hears muffled sounds from her father's bedroom. 

She runs to the room, noticing that the door is already open.

She looks inside, and suppresses a scream when she sees what's happening.

Kohaku, her little brother, is holding the largest knife that they own. It is held high above their father…

"NO!!!!" Sango screams running to her brother, trying to take the knife away.

She looks into his eyes, not seeing the timid, sensitive child that he once was, but a demented killer, intent on killing his prey.

And worse, he smiles at her…

Sango screams again as she feels a sharp piece of metal pierce through her back, near her spine. It goes through her back multiple times.

She looks up to see her attacker, his smile growing even wider…

Her brother…laughing at her pain…

As she watches Kohaku walk to the bed, she realizes her throat is frozen from the excruciating pain burning through her back.

Kohaku holds the knife over their father…

She can only watch as her father dies instantly, being stabbed in the side of the neck.

As their father drew his last breath, Kohaku seemed to come back to his senses, looked at what he had done, then looked straight into Sango's eyes.

"I'm sorry…"

Those were her brother's last words as he sent the knife that tasted the blood of both his sister and his father, through his stomach…

~~~**End Flashback**~~~

And this memory replayed in her head again, taking all of Sango's energy just to watch it. 

"Sango? How are you doing?" Ajikenai asked.

She did not reply, but continued to stare, a blank look in her eyes.

"Katsuragi! How long does it take you to read a file? Get over here!" Ajikenai snapped. "I'll tell you a little about this patient."

Miroku eagerly sat next to the older doctor, ready for some real information.

"Alright. Sango was checked in about a year ago, and has not improved since," the doctor explained, his edginess seemed to disappear in concern for Sango. "She falls into a momentary lapse about every few days, and during that time she does not respond to anything. But once these few days are up, she returns to normal, and she doesn't seem to remember…or maybe chooses _not_ remember…the past few days."

"Wow. What kind of treatments have you tried?" asked Miroku, his eyes wide.

"We've tried to talk to her about it, but as I've said, she doesn't seem to remember anything," Ajikenai's old snappiness coming back. "We've even tried 'natural' medicines and prescription upon prescription of anti-depressants. The thing is, she doesn't seem to _be _depressed."

Miroku turned the matter over in his mind. How do you help a person who doesn't seem to know that she momentarily shuts down? She doesn't seem depressed, but she was definitely unhealthy. It seemed to Miroku that she needed to be in a hospital, rather than in an asylum.

When he expressed his thoughts, Ajikenai sneered again, but this time at the mention of a hospital. "They wouldn't know what to do with her."

_But neither do we_, Miroku thought sadly.

He looked at the young girl sitting in front of him.

_I promise I'll do everything to help you,_ he thought. _Just like I was._

A/N: You know, once I got the 14th InuYasha book, I realized that Sango's condition is kind of like Rin's. Whatever. Did you like it so far? You can tell me in a review…

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Name Translations:

Ajikenai- Bland

Katsuragi- Actually, this is the last name of a teacher on the Japanese TV show, "Sakura".

Matsushita- This is the last name of the main character on "Sakura".


	2. The Beginning

Trapped

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Disclaimer: The characters in this story don't belong to me, although I wish Miroku did (sorry Sango)!

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A/N: Hmm…Nothing much. Just wanted to thank the people who reviewed (they helped me greatly). And I wanted to apologize for waiting so long to update. Just remember to review. They kinda act as a "fuel" for me, encouraging me to write. But don't worry, if you have a short-term memory, I'll remind you at the end of the chapter, 'k? 

Chapter 2: The Beginning

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A few days later…

"Dr, X4338 is now done with her episode," said a nurse, not bothering to knock before walking into Ajikenai's office.

The old doctor looked away from his computer, and then at the nurse.

"Alright, then," he said. "Get Katsuragi."

"Yes, Dr," the nurse said, bowing slightly.

She walked down the hall, towards the patients' wing, and went into one of the rooms. Inside was Miroku, backing away from his patient. The patient had a threatening look on his face, and stared menacingly at the young doctor as he walked closer and closer…

"Dr. Katsuragi?" the nurse asked timidly.

"Y-yes?" Miroku asked, a crack in his voice.

"Dr. Ajikenai would like to see you. You're going to go examine another patient."

Miroku, a look of supreme relief on his face, said "Well, Mr. Numata, I'm sorry, but we'll have to continue this some other time." 

As Miroku walked out the door, the patient screamed "I'll get you, you bastard! You'll see! One day roaches are gonna rule the world, with me as their court jester!" 

With that, Numata began laughing hysterically, yet eerily. As soon as Miroku closed the door, he heard something pretty big (_A chair?_ he thought), being thrown against it. 

Miroku just rolled his eyes. Numata was his worst patient. He would be talking to you one minute, then the next, he'd be strangling you because you didn't "bow down to his minions of darkness". 

Obviously, Miroku didn't feel like bowing down to a horde of cockroaches today.

He knocked on Ajikenai's door. When he heard a gruff reply, he walked in the office.

"Sir?"

"Katsuragi, X4338 needs to be examined," he threw the patient's folder at him. "This one is slightly different from the others, so be warned."

Miroku gulped. Would he finally meet a patient that was worse than Numata?

"Well?" Ajikenai asked impatiently. "Are you going, or not?"

Miroku nodded, grabbed the file, and left to visit his new patient.

~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~** 

Sango sat on her bed, looking out her window. It was a nice day outside, sunny, and clear, and alive…

So unlike this place…

After living here a year, Sango had learned to hate this asylum. And not just because of the name, which she felt was offensive, but because of the people here. She couldn't relate to _any_body; the staff treated her like an outcast, and the patients, half the time, would be stuck in their own little worlds, and not interact with her at all.

She somehow felt that she drifted between the worlds of the mentally ill and the mentally secure. And because of this, she was punished…

Imprisoned…

Trapped…

In a place she didn't belong…

With people who didn't understand…

"Hello, Sango?" said a deep voice.

She jumped and spun around. Before her was a young man whom she had never seen before. He had a little black ponytail, small gold hoop earrings, and wore a white lab coat over a pair of black dress up pants and a dark blue button up shirt. His eyes were kind and brown, and his smile friendly and genuine.

"Wh-who are you?" Sango asked, shock and fear etched on her face.

Miroku looked at her questioningly. "You don't remember me?"

Sango shook her head.

"Well…um…I'm Miroku Katsuragi," he said, holding out his hand. Sango shook it. "And I'm a new doctor here."

"What happened to Dr. Ajikenai?" she asked, as if she didn't trust Miroku.

"Don't worry. He's still here, I'm just taking over for today," he replied.

To this, Sango said nothing. She began to stare out the window. 

_Great, another doctor here to think I'm a freak, _she thought, pessimistically.

_Sango looks _much_ different from before,_ Miroku thought.

Instead of the blank expression she had before, Sango looked alert and attentive. She wasn't nearly as pale, and she didn't have those purple bags under her eyes. She looked just as thin as ever, though. In her eyes, Miroku read loneliness and distrust. 

He pulled a chair up to Sango's bed. When he sat in it, he asked, "So, would you like to talk?"

"Not really," she answered, sounding bored.

"Alright, then," Miroku said. "I'll just have to check your heart and lungs, I'm sure you know the drill."

Sango did nothing, just continued to stare out the window, that same hurt look in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Miroku took out his stethoscope and checked her breathing and heart rate. Comparing today's results to that of the results in the file, he saw that everything was normal. 

"Well, Sango, I'd really like to get to know you better," Miroku said. 

She nodded.

"Um…so, have you adjusted to life here?" he asked, searching for any topic to discuss.

"Oh, yes. I just _love_ living in an insane asylum, with no family, friends, or ties to the outside world," she said sarcastically. 

_Whoa! Wrong thing to say, I guess_, Miroku thought, taken aback.

"Would you like to tell me about your life before…" he began.

Sango finally looked at Miroku. This time spite and pain filled her eyes, along with a few tears…

"YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU HOW LIFE WAS BEFORE I CAME HERE, HUH?!" she yelled. "YOU WANT TO HEAR ABOUT HOW MY MOTHER DIED WHEN I WAS SEVEN?! OR HOW MY BROTHER WENT BERSERK, AND KILLED MY FATHER?! WHAT ABOUT WHEN I COULD ONLY WATCH AS HE THEN COMMITTED SUICIDE?! YEAH, I'M SURE _THAT_'LL CHEER ME UP!!!"

Miroku, guilt ridden, watched as Sango buried her head in her arms and cried. If there was one thing Miroku couldn't stand, was to make a woman cry.

Doing what only came naturally, he got up and sat next to Sango, putting his arms around her. At first, she tried to resist and pull away from him, but then she quit, and allowed him to hold her. She then cried into his chest, letting out all the pain and suffering she had experienced from the past year. 

"It's ok, Sango," Miroku whispered to her. "From how it sounded, that was the first time you truly let out your emotions. Usually that is the first step to recovery, and if I could help you do that, I could feel as though I weren't here in vain."

"S-so, it's ok for me to cry, as long as it makes you feel better?" she asked bitterly.

"No, none of this is about me," he assured. "It's all about _your_ way back to recovery."

For a long time, they just sat there on Sango's bed. Since he felt silence was the best medicine for the moment, Miroku said nothing as Sango continued to cry. He gently rocked her back and forth.

_Does he really care for me? _Sango wondered. _Or is he just saying it?_

When her sobs began to subside, Miroku decided it was time to cheer her up.

"You know, I think you hang around Ajikenai too much," he observed. "You both give me a rough time."

As she imagined Ajikenai insulting Miroku, Sango laughed.

"See? I know just how to cheer you up," Miroku bragged.

"No, it's just that I can't picture Ajikenai doing that. He's just a sweet old man, you know?" Sango said innocently.

Startled, Miroku fell off the bed, anime style. 

_Are we even talking about the same guy_? he wondered, still seeing stars.

Sango looked over the bed and chuckled. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," he replied, embarrassed.

Again, they stayed like that for a while, staring intently into each other's eyes. They searched each other's soul, wanting to know more of this mysterious person they found solace in. It was the best moment of their life, yet it was mixed with grief and heart-ache. 

Slowly, Miroku began to move closer to Sango. He was within inches of her face. He felt a sudden urge to…

"Ahem!"

Miroku, heart pounding, tore his eyes away from Sango's brown ones, and looked at the nurse at the door.

Blushing, he immediately hopped up, dusted himself off, and muttered, "Just checking for pupil reaction."

The nurse knew better, but nodded instead. "Ajikenai would like you to look at another patient."

"Of course," he walked to the door, and without turning around, stopped and cleared his throat. "Um…bye Sango."

"Bye…" she replied, smiling. "Miroku." 

He caught his breath. Hearing her say his name gave him an unnerving feeling in his stomach.

After he left, the flustered Sango couldn't help thinking,

_Yes, I think he _does_ care…_

~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**

A/N: Aww…they almost kissed! ^_^ Kinda short, I know, sorry about that. Did you like it? Do you think I should fix something with my writing? Write your opinion in a review!


	3. Physicals and Naughty Hands

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A/N: DUDE!!! How long has it been??? I'm very sorry that I have such a bad updating schedule! I swear, I started this about…7 months ago, and I never got around to finishing it. Hopefully this chapter answers the question why Miroku is not acting like a hentai. I'll try to add his perverted personality into the story, but I can't put too much (after all, he is her doctor!).

Chapter 3: Physicals and Naughty Hands

"Katsuragi!"

"Yes, Ajikenai?"

"Do not address me as some common physician, I am the head doctor here! You will treat me with respect, and do not forget the Dr. part!" _Dr_. Ajikenai barked to Miroku.

"I'm listening, Dr," Miroku tried to hide his intense hatred of the exasperating man.

"X4338 needs a physical, and I'm busy at the moment," he told Miroku. "Just do the regular, you know blood test, pupils, temp, ears-"

Miroku zoned out then. If he snapped at Ajikenai that he knew what to do, he would surely get punished for it. One thing bothered him, though. By the way Sango talked about Ajikenai, they were pretty close, or at least friendly with each other. Why did he always call her by a number?

"-weight, and scoliosis. Got it?"

"Yes, Dr. I just have an off topic question. Why are the patients given numbers? I think it kind of odd that you talk to them using their names, but otherwise identify them by a number."

"NO STUPID QUESTIONS!!!! Now, get to work. I don't want to see you anymore."

Rolling his eyes, Miroku shut the office door and walked to Sango's room. Before opening the door, he took a deep breath, and told himself:

_She's a patient. She's just a patient._

He opened the door and walked in.

"Hello Sango!" he greeted.

Sango looked up at him, her never-ending observation of the outside world being interrupted.

"Hello Miroku. Come for one of your 'talks' again?"

"No, actually, it's time for your physical."

At his words Sango's eyes widened.

Realizing what she was afraid of, Miroku blushed. He cleared his throat and said, "I'm not a gynecologist, Sango. I can't do _that_."

Immensely relieved, Sango let go of the breath that she didn't know she was holding.

"Come with me," Miroku motioned for her to follow him down the hall. They walked out of her room, and into one of the examination rooms.

Once they got there, they did all the boring stuff (such as height and weight) without talking.

"Hop on, and I might be able to sneak in a sucker for you," Miroku joked, indicating the white, paper-covered table against the wall.

Sango meekly got up on the table while Miroku grabbed the…uh…light thingy, and checked her pupils.

"So last time wasn't really a pupil reaction test, was it?" Sango slyly asked.

Reminiscing of their last encounter, Miroku blushed.

"I'm sorry about that, Sango. That was way out of line. You can be sure it won't happen again," he apologized.

Even though Sango's face remained expressionless, she could not help feeling disappointed inside. She liked this young doctor. He was funny, easy to talk to, and hot to boot! She knew they shouldn't have anything more than a patient-doctor relationship, though she had hoped he wouldn't care about their circumstances.

"Ok, Sango. I need you to open the back of your gown and lie on your stomach while I check your back muscles," Miroku said, the first part of his examination done.

She immediately obeyed. Although this was routine for all patients, Sango couldn't help feeling different about this time. Would it be different being touched by this new, inexperienced doctor? Would anything change between them? Would he just be disappointed, or laugh in her face because she's crazy?

"Ok, all done."

"Huh?" Sango looked at Miroku.

"Your back looks pretty good. You're done with your physical," He looked away as he said this. "Time to go back to your room."

Sango sensed he was hiding something, but didn't feel she had the authority to ask about it. She wordlessly followed him back to the room. Yes, she was disappointed (as I'm sure those who are reading are).

When she first met him, she thought she had felt something different about Miroku. Was it his confident disposition that she sensed as he walked through her door? Did his beautiful dark eyes lure her into his trap? She couldn't (wouldn't) describe the insecure, though safe feeling she had every time she saw him. Maybe she was just stuck in this nuthouse for so long that she jumped for the first good-looking man that showed up in front of her. Or maybe all those pills she had to take were jacking up her hormones.

But something scared her about this…predicament. Even with past boyfriends (all 2 of them), she had never felt drawn to someone like this. She'd had plenty of crushes, but this was…weird.

"Before I go Sango, I'd like to talk to you about your behavior," Miroku said, a business-like expression on his face.

Sango smiled expectantly. Although aware of her thoughts, Miroku continued.

"I know what you're thinking, especially after our last…meeting."

She stared at him, trying to keep her face neutral. Screaming within her thoughts was a single word: _AND_???

"…I'm very sorry, Sango, but you know that this hospital has a very strict policy about how doctors treat their patients. We must keep a formal relationship, or else I can't tend to you anymore. I sincerely wish that we had met under different circumstances," Miroku's face remained serious, but his eyes showed sorrow.

Like a heroine from a movie, bravely standing up to her enemy, Sango looked him straight in the eye, "I know. But can you just tell me one thing?"

His eyes remained locked with hers.

"How good are you at keeping secrets?"

Blushing, Miroku became flustered. All he could do was stutter.

"Um…I-I…can't…"

Sango smiled. Now would be a most opportune moment to do the one thing that she's wanted to do since she met him.

She yanked his tie and pulled his head down to her level. Miroku seemed shocked, and stood frozen in fear. Was she…was she going to…

One suave move later, and Sango was blushing uncontrollably…

A few minutes later, Miroku walked out Sango's door with a dark red hand-print on his face. 


End file.
